*The Blister*

He smiled.

He heard the sound of Ahmed Bukhatir singing “Zawjati” in his head. This happened to Zubair, every single time he looked at his beautiful wife, Zuleikha.

It wasn’t the bias of a newly-wed, it was the honest truth. To him, Zuleikha was the epitome of beauty.

It wasn’t that she had perfect features, as per the World’s Beauty Standards. But, she had something infinitely more valuable and Zubair recognized it: Appreciation.

She appreciated her Allah-given body and, why shouldn’t she?

Her every feature was perfectly designed, exclusively for her by Allah – the Best of Designers.

Why then should she ever change it?



Zuleikha showed her appreciation by grooming herself to the best of her ability, but never did she feel the need to burn her curly hair into straight submission, or to plaster her face with a cocktail of chemicals.

You can imagine how Zubair’s smile turned into a frown when she turned around.  Zubair blinked, hoping it was a trick of the light. To his dismay, it was really there.

A big, bulging, blister perched on the back of his beloved’s head.

Zubair shuddered.

Zuleikha wore her Hijaab over it, but Zubair could still see it. It was so large that it changed her side profile to having two heads. It was so high that even without her “heels” she was now taller than him. Simply put – It resembled a camel’s hump.

He coughed uncomfortably before opening his mouth.

“Zuleikha, uh…  your head… is your…” He struggled to find the right words, but continued “… Is your head swollen, dear?”

Zuleikha stifled a giggle, “Don’t be silly” She said, “It’s a new way of wearing the Hijaab. It makes sure all your hair stays in at the back. It’s so much more convenient and it looks kind of cool. You see, all you do is wear one of these big flowers or this doughnut…”

She showed Zubair a scary looking hair-grip, with a fabric “flower” attached to it and a huge doughnut made from a spongy net.

Zubair swallowed his anger. The point of Hijab was to conceal beauty…besides that blister wasn’t cool, it was freaky.

How could Zuleikha be so gullible?

His mind raced. The next few moments were critical – for him, for Zuleikha, and for their marriage. He needed to explain the folly of Zuleikha’s action without hurting her feelings.

“Habibti…,” he began endearingly.

“You know I want to be with you in Jannah, right?” He paused as Zuleikha blushed. “But right now there’s a huge mountain in our way…”

“How?” she asked, worry all over her face.

“It looks like a flower or doughnut, but that new contraption is actually a mountain, love. A mountain that might separate us from Jannah and Allah’s pleasure”

“How so?” asked Zuleikha. She sounded confused.

“Well… Nabi (ﷺ) once said something to this effect “There will be in the last of my Ummah, scantily dressed women, the hair on the top of their heads like a camel’s hump. Curse them, for verily they are cursed”

The color drained from Zuleikha’s face. She immediately began undoing her Hijab, tears glistening in her eyes.

“I… I didn’t know” she softly said. “Zubair, Jazaka-Allah for telling me this…”

Zubair exhaled in relief. Alhamdulillah, Zuleikha had heeded.  Seeing the remorse in her eyes, he comforted her

“Allah will never punish you if you seek forgiveness” and so saying, he dried her tears while showing her different ways of  fastening her hair without the “blister” at the back of her head.

He knew the Hump Hijaab is a clever scheme, another way Shaytaan deceives. Zuleikha happily let down her hump, knowing…

“…if I’m wearing the Hijaab to please Allah, how can I wear the Hump that displeases Allah…?”

by  Umm Leeyah